Westend Capital Management LLC Buys New Stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Westend Capital Management LLC recently acquired 114,484 shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation, valued at approximately $10.45 million, making it the firm's 17th largest holding.
• Charles Schwab reported quarterly earnings of $1.14 per share, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 24.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a $20 billion stock buyback plan, indicating the board believes the stock is undervalued, amidst positive analyst ratings including several "buy" ratings and a target price increment.

Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 114,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,446,000. Charles Schwab makes up 3.2% of Westend Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,616,380,000 after purchasing an additional 19,817,022 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Charles Schwab by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 82,048,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,422,795,000 after purchasing an additional 8,954,248 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Charles Schwab by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 17,440,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,365,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,384 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 17,115,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,339,822,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,586,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,220,107,000 after purchasing an additional 743,906 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total transaction of $594,800.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,265.63. This trade represents a 34.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total transaction of $17,185,903.84. Following the sale, the chairman owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 267,213 shares of company stock valued at $26,232,180. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE SCHW traded up $0.01 on Monday, reaching $94.34. 11,068,868 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,536,586. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $62.41 and a one year high of $99.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $95.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, July 18th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Charles Schwab Profile

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.